Instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism

ABSTRACT

Instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism having a continuously rotating driving member and a driven member coaxial therewith. A spring resiliently couples the driven member with the driving member so that, when a relative rotation is established between the driving member and the driven member by temporarily holding the latter stationarily while the former is rotating, a rotational driving force is given to the driven member by the spring so as to instantaneously rotate the same. The driven member is releasably held stationary by each of the locking members arranged around the driven member, and the locking members are released by a cam portion formed in the driving member as the same is rotating so that the driven member which is held stationary by one of the locking members is instantaneously rotated when the cam portion releases that locking member until the succeeding locking member arrests the driven member so as to be ready for the instantaneous driving of the driven member when the cam portion reaches the succeeding locking member, thereby effecting the intermittent feeding of the driven member.

limited States Patent @ltabe Sept. 11, 1973 1 4] INSTANTANEOUS INTERMITTENT FEEDING MECHANISM [30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 24, 1970 Japan 45/64905 [52] US. Cl. 74/112 [51] Int. Cl. F16h 27/00 [58] Field of Search ..74/112, 128, 142

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 715,975 12/1902 Carichoff 74/112 1,479,970 1 1924 Leppert 74 112 2,009,383 7/1935 Blume 74/112 2,106,042 1/1938 Stark 74/112 2,460,000 1/1949 Flanaganm. 74/112 2,598,448 5/1952 Schultz 74/112 2,757,569 8/1956 lsom 74/112 3,130,594 4/1964 Campbell 74/112 2,810,302 10/1957 James et a1. 74/112 3,132,527 5/1964 Rocton 74/112 Primary Examiner-Charles J. Myhre Assistant Examiner-Wesley S. Ratliff, Jr. Attorney-Kelman and Berman 57 ABSTRACT Instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism having a continuously rotating driving member and a driven member coaxial therewith. A spring resiliently couples the driven member with the driving member so that, when a relative rotation is established between the driving member and the driven member by temporarily holding the latter stationarily while the former is rotating, a rotational driving force is given to the driven member by the spring so as to instantaneously rotate the same. The driven member is releasably held stationary by each of the locking members arranged around the driven member, and the locking members are released by a cam portion formed in thedriving member as the same is rotating so that the driven member which is held stationary by one of the locking members is instantaneously rotated when the cam portion releases that locking member, until the succeeding locking member arrests the driven member so as to be ready for the instantaneous driving of the driven member when the cam portion reaches the succeeding locking member, thereby effecting the intermittent feeding of the driven member.

Patented Sept. 11, 1973 INVENTOR Kal'sM/v/"o 0k! be BY M Md MA,

AGNfS INSTANTANEOUS INTERMITTENT FEEDING MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism and, more particularly, to an instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism in which a driven member is instantaneously rotated intermittently in either of two opposite directions according to the direction of rotation of a driving member continuously rotating in either of two opposite directions.

In an intermittent feeding mechanism of the prior art, in which the intermittently driven member is actuated instantaneously, the direction of rotation of the intermittently driven member effected by the operation of a continuously rotating driving member has been limited to one of two opposite directions. Further, in another intermittent feeding mechanism of the prior art in which the intermittent feeding is effected by using mechanical gearing means so that the intermittently driven member can be intermittently rotated in either of two opposite directions according to the rotation of the driving member in either of two opposite directions, the operation speed of the driven member is limited by the speed of the driving member thereby making it impossible to actuate the driven member instantaneously.

Therefore, in prior art intermittent feeding mechanisms, the direction of rotation or the operating speed of the intermittently driven member is limited and, hence, the scope of application thereof is restricted or a part of the characteristics of theintermittent feeding mechanisms must be sacrificed in the application thereof.

The present invention aims at avoiding the disadvantages of the prior art intermittent feeding mechanisms of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a novel and useful instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism which avoids the above described disadvantages of the prior art intermittent feeding mechanism and which is capable of intermittently operating instantaneously in either of two opposite directions in response to the rotation of the driving member in either of the two opposite directions regardless of the speed of the, driving member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and useful instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism of the type described above in which a power source for the intermittently driven member is energized by the rotation of the driving member in either of the two opposite directions while the driven member is held stationarily by a locking member and the locking member is released by the driving member during the rotation thereof so that the drivenmember is driven by the energy stored in the power source in the direction of rotation of the driving member until it is again arrested by the locking member thereby permitting the driven member to be repeatedly driven instantaneously regardless of the speed and the direction of rotation of the driving member.

The above objects are achieved in accordance with the present invention by the provision of an instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism having a continuously rotating driving member in either of the two opposite directions and a driven member coaxial with the driving member and characterized by two shoulder portions formed in the periphery of the driven member, at least two locking members engageable with each of the shoulder portions so that the driven member is releasably arrested its rotation in one of the two opposite directions by the engagement of one of the shoulder portions with the locking member while the driven member is releasably arrested its rotation in the other of the two opposite directions by the engagement of the other of the shoulder portions with the locking member, a spring resiliently coupling the driven member with the driving member so that, when a relative rotation is given between the driving and driven members, a rotational driving force in the direction of the relative rotation of the driving member with respect to the driven member is given to the driven member, and a cam formed in the periphery of the driving member engageable with the locking member during the rotation of the driving member in either of the opposite two directions so that the locking member in engagement with the shoulder portion is disengaged therefrom to permit the driven member to be driven instantaneously bythe action of the spring in which the rotational driving force is stored during the rotation of the driving member while the driven member is held stationarily by the locking member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a digital indicating device with which the present invention is coupled, the digital indicating device being taken as an example of the field of application of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONOF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, a driving member 1 in the form of a disc and provided with a raised cam portion Ib is rotatably mounted on a shaft 2. The driving member 1 is rotated continuously in either of two opposite directions by a power source (not shown).

A driven member 3 also in the form of a disc is freely rotatably mounted on the shaft 2 coaxially with and spaced a short distance from the driving member 1.

The driving member 1 is provided with a pin la in the side surface facing toward the driven member 3 at a radial distance from the axis of the shaft 2, while the driven member 3 is provided with a pin 3c in the side surface facing toward the driving member I at another radial distance from the axis of the shaft 2.

A spiral spring 4 is mounted around the shaft 2 between the driving member 1 and the driven member 3, As shown in FIG. 1, the ends of the spring 4 extend substantially radially in parallel relationship to each other with a short distance held therebetween so that the pin la of the driving member 1 and the pin 30 of the driven member 3 are resiliently held between the parallel ends .of the spring 4. It is preferable to give a preload to the spring 4 so as to urge the pins Ia, 3c toward each other. Therefore, when a relative rotation is given between the driving member 1 and the driven member 3, the spring 4 is deformed and energized to store a rotational driving force therein. Thus, when the driven member 3 is released to freely rotate after the driving member I has been rotated while the driven member 3 has been held stationarily, the spring 4 having been energized by the relative rotation between the driving and driven member 1, 3 supplies a rotational driving force in the direction of the rotation of the driving member 1 to the driven member 3 so that the same is instantaneously rotated in the direction of the rotation of the driving member 1 independently from the rotational speed of the driving member 1.

In order to effect intermittent driving of the driven member 3 in either of two opposite directions in response to the direction of rotation of the driving member 1 in either of the two opposite directions, the driven member 3 is provided with shoulder portions 30 and 3b in the periphery at diametrically opposite positions thereof.

A pair of swingable locking levers 5, 6 are pivotally supported by a shaft 9 as shown in FIG. 1. Upstanding bent portions 5a, 6a are formed in the free ends of the levers S, 6, respectively. A spring 11 is provided around the shaft 9 with its one end secured to the free end of the lever S and with its other end held by the free end of the lever 6 so that the upstanding bent portions 5a, 5b of the levers 5, 6 are resiliently urged against the periphery of the driven member 3.

In the similar manner, another pair of swingable locking levers 7, 8 having upstanding bent portions 7a, 8a in their free ends, respectively, are swingably supported by a shaft 10 and the upstanding bent portions 7a, 8a of the levers 7, 8 are resiliently urged against the periphery of the driven member 3 by a spring 12 provided around the shaft 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shoulder portions 3a, 3b are so shaped and arranged that the driven member 3 is arrested its anticlockwise rotation by the engagement of the shoulder portion 3a with any of the upstanding bent portions 5a, 6a, 7a and 80 while the driven member 3 is arrested its clockwise rotation by the engagement of the shoulder portion 3b with any of the upstanding bent portions 50, 6a, 7a and 8a. Thus, the levers 5, 6, 7 and 8 serve as locking members, respectively.

In order to insure regular intermittent driving of the driven member 3, the upstanding bent portion 5a, 6a, 7a and 8a are arranged at equal distance from each other along the periphery of the driven member 3 as shown in FIG. 1. The cam portion lb of the driving member 1 is so shaped that it also engages with any of the upstanding bent portions 5a, 6a, 7a and 84 as the driving member 1 rotates so that the bent portion engaged with the cam portion lb is moved radially outwardly allowing the shoulder portion of the driven member 2 which has been arrested by the upstanding bent portion to be released therefrom for the free rotation of the driven member 3.

The driven member 3 is provided with a gear 3d integral therewith so as to transmit the intermittent rotation of the driven member 3 to a device to which the intermittent feeding is to be applied.

In operation starting at the condition shown in FIG. 1, the driving member 1 is rotated continuously in either of two opposite directions, for example, in the clockwise direction at a constant speed by means (not shown), for example, by a synchronous motor. Then, the spring 4 is tensioned to store a rotational driving force therein, because the driven member 3 is arrested by the engagement of the shoulder portion 3b with the upstanding bent portion 8a of the locking lever 8. As

the rotation of the driving member I proceeds and the cam portion lb of the driving member 1 reaches the upstanding bent portion 8a, the cam portion lb urges the bent portion 8a radially outwardly so that the shoulder portion 3b is disengaged from the bent portion 8a to allow the instantaneous rotation of the driven member 3 in the clockwise direction by the rotational driving force given by the spring 4 until the shoulder portion 3b is again arrested by the bent portion 5a of the locking lever 5 located in the course of movement of the shoulder portion 3b, while the driving member 1 continues to rotate. When the cam portion lb reaches the bent portion 5a with the spring 4 being energized to store a rotational driving force therein due to the relative rotation between the driving and driven member 1, 3, the shoulder portion 3b is again disengaged from the bent portion 5b so that the driven member 3 is again rotated instantaneously in the clockwise direction until the shoulder portion 3b is arrested by the bent portion 6a of the locking lever 6. This procedures are repeated insofar as the driving member 1 continues to rotate. Therefore, the driven member 3 is intermittently rotated instantaneously by the action of the spring 4 at time intervals as determined by the number of the bent portions of the locking levers arranged around the driven member 3 and the rotational speed of the driving member 1, the speed of the intermittent motion of the driven member 3 being independent from the rotational speed of the driving member 1.

In like manner, the driven member 3 can be intermittently driven in the anticlockwise direction when the driving member 1 is rotated continuously in the anticlockwise direction. In this case, however, the shoulder portion 3a of the driven member 3 serves to effect intermittent rotation of the driven member 3 in place of the shoulder portion 3b.

As described above, the present invention provides an instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism in which the driven member can be driven intermittently in either of two opposite directions instantaneously by the action of the continuously rotating driving member in accordance with the direction of rotation of thereof, the speed of the rotation of the driven member being independent of the speed of rotation of the driving member but made constant as determined by the action of the spring. I

FIG. 2 shows a digital indicating device adapted to be coupled with the present invention, the digital indicating device being an example of the application of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, a feeding drum 21 is rotatably supported on a shaft 22. The drum 21 is provided with a gear 21a integral therewith adapted to be engaged with the gear 3d so as to be intennittently rotated thereby.

A plurality of guide rollers 24, 25, 26 are rotatably supported by shaft 27, 28, 29, respectively, and arranged around the feeding drum 21 as shown in FIG. 2.

A swingable lever 30 is pivotally supported at one end thereof by a shaft 31 and a guide roller 34 is rotatably supported by a shaft 33 which is secured to the free end of the lever 30 as shown in FIG. 2.

A translucent indicating belt 23 bearing thereon indicating marks such as counting number is stretched around the rollers 24, 25, 26 and 34 and the stretch of the belt 23 between the rollers 24, 34 is turned back so as to be stretched around the feeding drum 21 as shown in FIG. 2.

In order to give an appropriate tension to the belt 23, one end of a spring 32 is secured to the lever 30 and the other end thereof is secured to a stationary portion of the device so that the lever 30 is urged so as to move the roller 34 for tensioning the belt 23.

An indicating window 35 is formed in the casing wall located along the stretch of the belt 23 between the rollers 25 and 26 and an illuminating lamp 36 is arranged behind the belt 23 adjacent to the position of the indicating window 35 so that the indicating marks on the belt 23 can be clearly observed through the indicating window 35 by the light emitted from the lamp 36.

In operation, the feeding drum 21 is intermittently driven by the intermittent feeding mechanism of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1 by the engagement of the gear 3d with the gear 21a, so that the belt 23 is intermittently fed by the action of the drum 21 thereby the indication of the belt 23 observed through the window 35 to be intermittently changed.

As described previously, the belt 23 can be fed in either of the opposite two directions in accordance with the direction of rotation of the intermittent feeding mechanism of the present invention.

The present invention has been described thus far in connection with an embodiment shown in FIG. I in which four intermittent motions is effected for one revolution of the driving member, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown. For example, the number of the locking members can be made two or more. For example, when it is desired to effect three intermittent motions for each revolution of the driving member, each of the shoulder portions 3a and 3b of the driven member'3 is angularly located at an angle of 120 from the lowest portion of the driven member 3 as seen in FIG. 1, and the uppermost locking lever 5 is dispensed with and the positions of the bent portions 6a and 8a of the locking levers 6 and 8 are shifted so as to correspond to the respective shoulders 3a and 3b, respectively. Various modifications in number and arrangement of the locking levers and the corresponding modifications of arrangement of the shoulder portions are possible.

Further, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to the digital indicating device shown in FIG. 2, but the present invention can be advantageously applied to any device such as a changeover switch, a time switch and the like, because no rebounding action due to the inertia of the driven member occurs in the intermittent feeding mechanism of the present invention.

Further, the present invention is very simple in construction and is produced at a very low cost, because no high accuracy is required in making the parts of the intermittent feeding mechanism of the present invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with an instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism including a driving member adapted to be rotated continuously in either of two opposite directions and a driven member rotatably arranged coaxially with said driving member and adapted to be intermittently rotated in the direction of rotation of said driving member by the action thereof, two engaging portions being provided in said driven member, at least two locking members engageable with each of said two engaging portions, said two engaging portions being so arranged that said driven member is releasably arrested by the engagement of one of said two engaging portions with one of said locking members as said driven member is rotated in one of the two opposite directions while said driven member is releasably arrested by the engagement of the other of said two engaging portions with one of said locking members as said driven member is rotated in the other of the two opposite directions, a spring resiliently coupling said driven member with said driving member so that, when a relative rotation is established between said driving member and said driven member, a rotational driving force in the direction of the relative rotation of said driving member with respect to said driven member is given to said driven member by said spring, and a releasing portion is provided in said driving member and adapted to engage with said locking member as said driving member rotates in eitherof the two opposite directions so as to disengage said engaging portion arrested by said locking member therefrom, thereby permitting saiddriven member to be instantaneously rotated by said rotational driving force until the same is arrested by the engagement of said engaging portion with one of said locking members encountered during the rotation of said driven member:

a. indicia-bearing means coupled to and intennittently driven by said feeding mechanism; and b. means for rendering at least one of the indicia on said indicia-bearing means visible to the human eye during the interval when rotation of said driven member is arrested.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said indicia-bearing means comprises an endless belt having selectively opaque and transparent regions thereon respresentative of the alphanumeric characters, said rendering means comprises a source of a beam of light passing through certain of the selectively transparent regions on said belt, thereby to cause selected ones of said alphanumeric characters to be displayed on a screen, and the apparatus further includes gear means for coupling the intermittent motion of said driven member to said indicia-bearing means. 

1. In combination with an instantaneous intermittent feeding mechanism including a driving member adapted to be rotated continuously in either of two opposite directions and a driven member rotatably arranged coaxially with said driving member and adapted to be intermittently rotated in the direction of rotation of said driving member by the action thereof, two engaging portions being provided in said driven member, at least two locking members engageable with each of said two engaging portions, said two engaging portions being so arranged that said driven member is releasably arrested by the engagement of one of said two engaging portions with one of said locking members as said driven member is rotated in one of the two opposite directions while said driven member is releasably arrested by the engagement of the other of said two engaging portions with one of said locking members as said driven member is rotated in the other of the two opposite directions, a spring resiliently coupling said driven member with said driving member so that, when a relative rotation is established between said driving member and said driven member, a rotational driving force in the direction of the relative rotation of said driving member with respect to said driven member is given to said driven member by said spring, and a releasing portion is provided in said driving member and adapted to engage with said locking member as said driving member rotates in either of the two opposite directions so as to disengage said engaging portion arresteD by said locking member therefrom, thereby permitting said driven member to be instantaneously rotated by said rotational driving force until the same is arrested by the engagement of said engaging portion with one of said locking members encountered during the rotation of said driven member: a. indicia-bearing means coupled to and intermittently driven by said feeding mechanism; and b. means for rendering at least one of the indicia on said indicia-bearing means visible to the human eye during the interval when rotation of said driven member is arrested.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said indicia-bearing means comprises an endless belt having selectively opaque and transparent regions thereon respresentative of the alphanumeric characters, said rendering means comprises a source of a beam of light passing through certain of the selectively transparent regions on said belt, thereby to cause selected ones of said alphanumeric characters to be displayed on a screen, and the apparatus further includes gear means for coupling the intermittent motion of said driven member to said indicia-bearing means. 